LAS VEGAS – Trent Miller was the biggest underdog at Dana White’s Contender Series on Tuesday, but walked away with a second-round submission victory in rare fashion.
After he weathered an initial storm, Miller (10-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) slept opponent Douglas Rodrigues (6-2) with a Von Flue choke early in Round 2 at Meta APEX. The victory earned him a UFC contract from Dana White.
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“It does make it a little bit sweeter,” Miller told MMA Junkie and other reporters backstage after the fight. “I have a bad habit where I have to get hit a little bit before I really turn it on. I’m going to try to fix that and turn it on without getting hit first.”
Miller, 30, was getting tagged badly in Round 1 but overcame the adversity with not only his durability but his pre-fight preparation as well. It quickly became clear that Miller’s cardio would outlast Rodrigues’.
“Nothing much, just, ‘Got to defend myself and get back to my feet and face him and I’ve got to hit him back,'” Miller said when asked what went through his mind as he was getting hit. “I wanted to land an overhand or a hook or something clean. I was really hoping I’d get a big knockout tonight. I’m very thankful for the submission, but knockouts always feel so good.”
The Von Flue choke was the second in Dana White’s Contender Series history. The first was pulled off by current UFC welterweight contender Gabriel Bonfim in 2022. While Miller said it’s not something he focuses much on, he said he almost hit it in a recent regional fight, too.
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“I’ve almost hit one in a fight before,” Miller said. “I fought a guy from Dagestan last year. I had him in a Von Flue but he was big, strong, and missed weight by like eight pounds. He was a lot bigger than me. He was able to buck me off, but I almost had it. Every once in a while in practice I get it, but it’s not something I go for super often. He grabbed my head. I picked him up, slammed him, and just felt it was there. I had to send it.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Trent Miller decided to ‘send it’ with Von Flue choke, hopes to shake bad habit in UFC
